U.S. President Donald Trump has significantly expanded the list of countries whose citizens are entirely banned from entry into the United States. According to an official document released by the White House on Tuesday, December 16, the new restrictions, which will come into effect on January 1, 2026, will cover 20 countries and territories. With this, the scope of these measures applied by Washington has doubled.
Countries Under Complete Ban
According to the new order, the gates of the United States are completely closed to citizens of the following countries:
- Burkina Faso, Laos, Mali, Niger, Syria, Sierra Leone, and South Sudan.
Additionally, holders of travel documents (passports) issued by the Palestinian National Authority are also prohibited from entering the United States.
Countries with Partial Restrictions
The U.S. administration has also imposed partial restrictions on several countries due to security concerns and deficiencies in information-sharing systems:
- Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Benin, Gabon, Gambia, the Dominican Republic, Zambia, Zimbabwe, Côte d’Ivoire, Malawi, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, Tanzania, and Tonga.
The official statement emphasized that these harsh measures are targeted at countries that consistently face issues in verifying identities and sharing counterterrorism intelligence.
Relief for Turkmenistan
Washington has provided certain concessions to citizens of Turkmenistan. Specifically, restrictions on non-immigrant visas have been lifted. However, the suspension of immigrant visas remains in place. This decision is seen as a result of Ashgabat’s “effective cooperation” with the United States in improving identity verification systems.
Historical Context: Trump and Biden Policies
During his first term, Donald Trump had imposed bans on countries such as Cuba, Iran, Libya, North Korea, Somalia, and Yemen. When Joe Biden assumed office, he revoked these decisions.
However, after returning to the White House, Trump reinstated the restrictions in June 2025. At that time, a list of 19 countries, including Afghanistan, Haiti, Myanmar, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo, was established. Notably, neither North Korea nor Syria was included in the list at that time.
Donald Trump stated: "We are reinstating the entry bans and will not allow radical terrorists to infiltrate our country. These measures have previously been extremely successful in preventing terrorist attacks in the United States."
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